Austria – The announcement and preparations of compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 by the Austrian authorities starting in February, despite the majority of the population’s hostility to this measure, pushes more and more Austrians to protest against this project. 177,000 citizens have already filed a written objection on the website of the National Council.
This is why a group of 600 Austrian police officers – a profession that is generally unaccustomed nor very inclined to publicly express disagreement with the government – sent an open letter on Monday, 10 January to their supervisory minister, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP), calling on the government to outright withdraw the bill on compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 and to stop dividing Austrian society:
Rule of law, freedom of expression, fundamental rights and health
“In view of the situation in our country (…) we feel obliged to share with you, as guardians of fundamental rights and freedoms, our concerns about the compulsory vaccination plan and society’s growing division.
(…) We are a group of several hundred police officers from all over Austria who have met informally due to the current situation.
What unites us is concern for the rule of law, our freedom of expression and our fundamental rights, as well as our health.
The vaccine should not be administered through coercion, pressure or discrimination.
Some of us are vaccinated against Covid-19, some are not. We are people of different social backgrounds and our characters and needs are just as different. (…)
The decision on any drug treatment or vaccination should be made without any coercion, pressure or discrimination, taking into account the individual risk assessment. This decision for or against vaccination must be respected and accepted by all parties, including employers.
High risk of side effects
(…) Solidarity towards society is often proclaimed by vaccinated people when one opposes the Covid-19 vaccination for various reasons. It is in our opinion a rather debatable argument which deserves to be discussed. Indeed, it is scientifically proven that vaccination does not prevent infection or transmission of the virus to others. All that remains is a reduced risk of severe disease progression, and the duration of that effect is unclear. In addition, as scientific studies show,
vaccination carries a high risk of side effects, the severity and frequency of which are not comparable to those of other vaccines developed and tested thus far, and of whose real magnitude will likely only be visible over time,
as these side effects (unfortunately) receive little media attention at the moment. […]
We consider it ethically dubious and morally wrong to blame a group, in this case currently unvaccinated people, for the collapse of the health care system.
The vaccination narrative is preached like a mantra
Neither is such a process used in society against smokers, obese people, extreme sports athletes or other groups whose behaviour and lifestyle are likely to put an excessive strain on the health system (…) we are concerned to see how specialists’ critical voices are immediately suppressed by superiors, employers, politicians and the media, who deny them any competence and prevent open debate on other possible approaches (therapeutic). Instead,
the vaccination narrative is preached like a mantra and the country is endlessly crippled by lockdowns, with far-reaching repercussions on the economy and society as a whole. We observe this development with concern, since it undermines freedom of expression in a democracy, hinders scientific discourse and is the expression of a thought-dictatorship.
Medical experimentation and the Nuremberg Code
(…) All current vaccines and gene therapy drugs only benefit from a conditional authorisation and their effective duration is often unknown. (…) As a result, all those vaccinated so far are currently participating in ongoing medical studies that will last until 2024.
According to the Nuremberg Code, participation in a medical trial must not be done under the use of force, fraud, trickery, pressure, simulation or any other form of persuasion or coercion. We therefore wish to clarify that we do not wish to participate in such a trial or study.
We would therefore like to draw your attention to the fact that were the vaccination obligation and the accompanying labour law measures to lead to staff shortages, you should in any case expect the Republic of Austria to lose many motivated, committed and qualified police officers. […]
Against compulsory vaccination
We therefore ask you to make a commitment to ensure that no professional or general compulsory vaccination or any other form of indirect vaccination obligation is introduced in Austria,
(…) to ensure that you put an end to discriminations against unvaccinated colleagues as well as threats of disciplinary measures and denunciations against your collaborators. (…)”
